Decadent Hot Fudge Sauce is simply what the title touts, pure decadence! This silky smooth sauce perfectly balances the richness of dark chocolate and the sweetness of milk chocolate.
I’m convinced I’ve been addicted to hot fudge sauce since I was born. I can never remember not positively loving it. Nor can I ever remember a day where I thought vanilla ice cream was complete without it. As a teenager, one of my favorite things to do late at night was head upstairs and make myself a little mini portion of hot fudge in the microwave to go over a bowl of ice cream, very quietly, so as not to wake anybody. If I really wanted a treat, I would also warm up a little peanut butter and pour it on top of the ice cream too. So maybe I didn’t start eating ice cream with hot fudge the day of my birth, but I have always been a hot fudge snob.
My Mom made hot fudge all the time growing up. She never bought it. Even the thought of her buying it sounds utterly ridiculous, because she made it so much. Like mother like daughter, I have never bought it either. On occasion I may find that a store-bought bottle of hot fudge looks a little tempting, but as soon as I flip the jar and see the ingredients listed on the back, I’m not tempted anymore. Not when I know I can head home and have Decadent Hot Fudge Sauce, made with loads of cream and butter, ready in ten minutes. Butter saves the day again.
A couple of years ago or so, I posted this Hot Fudge Sauce. Now, I’m not going back on my word, because I still adore that recipe, but we eat hot fudge so much if I made the same recipe every time, we would easily get sick of it. So why would I be a stingy girl and not share other delectable hot fudge recipes with you?!
I’ve been making Decadent Hot Fudge Sauce for a couple of years now. It’s a Ree Drummond original, tweaked to my liking. The first time I made her recipe, my sister and I sat up late eating spoonfuls of it. Before we knew it, it was gone! Really, how does that happen?
Though I loved the original recipe, I am not a heavy dark chocolate fan and it was a bit more dark tasting than I prefer. So…I tested that recipe over and over again. I added twice the sugar, I added half the cocoa, but it never worked out. A thicker hot fudge is my preference as well, not too thick, but thick enough. So…I continued testing to make it a little bit thicker. I added less cream, I boiled it down until it was thicker, but it still just wasn’t quite right.
Finally, I realized I was making the whole situation harder than it needed to be. One day, I decided to add some milk chocolate chips to make it sweeter. Not only did that simple addition make the sauce sweeter, but thicker. It was the best of both worlds and Decadent Hot Fudge Sauce turned into perfection.
Friends don’t let friends eat store-bought hot fudge. Plus, if you already have some ice cream in the freezer, hot fudge drenched ice cream is one of the quickest and easiest treats of all time!
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup cream* (see note)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips **(see note)
- In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the sugar and cocoa. Add the cream and stir. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the butter and vanilla. Once the mixture begins to melt, add the chocolate chips. Continue heating until fully melted. Store leftovers in the fridge.
- *If you want the sauce to be a little thinner, use a little extra cream. I have found when I make it with heavy cream, I may need to add a few extra tablespoons to thin in out.
- **If you want the hot fudge to be sweeter, simply add more milk chocolate chips.
